CURRENT MISSION

I try to be mindful, beneficial and inspiring. Fun, reality based life engages me.

ABOUT ME

In 1989,I was a student on a 23-day Colorado Outward Bound Course. On day 22, sitting at the lower reaches of a river, I allowed my eyes to follow this flowing water toward its source. Snow-covered mountains and thick coniferous forests lay before me. And in a tumbling flow of thoughts, I realized that the wilderness I had been living in for the previous three weeks had become my home.

I felt obliged to do whatever I could to protect such wild places so that others may have similar experiences. Since then, I have worked with various Environmental Education organizations and done extensive field work. I believed, my conservation piece was teaching and empowering others to make conscious choices about their impact on our home planet. My goal: simply to raise awareness and from that place of awareness, one could allow positive change to occur.

PHILOSOPHY

I have attended many teachings that emphasize training the mind to recognize the thoughts that give rise to emotions, and then from these emotions, spontaneous reactions occur. I am trying to bring more awareness to these thoughts to recognize anger or frustrations or sadness or happiness or joys and the like so that I can consciously choose to behave in ways that bring positive benefit to those around me. This is in place of the spontaneous reactions indoctrinated in me since leaving the womb. So, that's one thing...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I was couchsurfing due to the kindness of many well before I knew anything about the 'officiality' of the activity. My first 'big' trip was to Australia and New Zealand for what would be an incredibly positive year of my life. The people I met, the homes I was invited into and the experiences I shared with others are cherishable memories. I am exceptionally excited about the organized nature of couchsurfer and SOOOOO look forward to frolicking about the globe and visiting other surfers!!

Interests

Ping-pong on horseback would be a neat thing to try. Scuba diving in Alpine lakes would also be enjoyable. I like to dream about adventures, plan them and pursue them to completion. Big backpack trips, yoga, playing guitar, cycling through forests, birdwatching, swimming in fresh water, picking berries and making treats with them, rock climbing, using field guides to learn flowers and trees, reading out loud with my wife, gardening, live music...lots of things interest me.

• education
• yoga
• gardening
• flowers
• reading
• music
• live music
• guitar
• cycling
• equestrian
• backpacking
• scuba diving
• rock climbing
• swimming
• ecology
• teaching
• history
• lakes
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm a fan of most any music...I have a special affinity towards blues, jazz, reggae...grateful dead, rebirth brass band, reverend gary davis, john lee hooker, kate wolf, tuck and patti, leo kottke, doc watson, del mcory band, hot tuna, jimi hendrix, neil young, james brown....j.r.r. tolkein, john mcphee, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, thich nhat hanh...robin williams, sigurney weaver, morgan freeman, tom hanks...and some others, i'm sure...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One thing that really stands out in the mind's eye of my wife and I are being the first white travelers to a village in Nepal.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am a graduate of a Master's program that trained me in what I would call Applied Ecology. Although my official document reads "Botany", my experience is landscape analysis and ecosystem assessment. It is with great excitement and enthusiasm that I seek to combine these newly developed, more technical skills with the education and natural history guiding experience I have to create a more comprehensive 'package' for those interested in environmental issues and potential for conservation.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A zeal for experience. Enriching conversation. Time in wild places, if there's interest. Sharing meals. Inviting a sense of wonder. Laughter. Thought provocation. Hope.

Countries I’ve Visited

Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, Greenland, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

•